Oh, hello there!

Where on Earth have I been? I have been so busy with life, I just didn't have time for the Internet. I have just a few minutes and just decided to stop by. How have you been, blogging world? I haven't even read any of my favorite blogs. I really need to catch up on everyone's lives! As for me: I have paid all consumer debt and only owe the mortgage. I have potatoes, beans, herbs and berry bushes planted. I have been going to the gym and am feeling stronger. I have blown my grocery budget for the past 3 months. I still work part time. We have leftovers and sandwiches at least once per week. I am so tired and worn out that some days I want to cry. I've decided that it's time to replace my car and am saving and researching. I plan to get my budget back under control. I went to the grocery store yesterday and came in under budget by $7! I saved $17 with coupons. Today I will plan my menu for the next two weeks. I feel like getting back on track and it makes me happy. Time to prioritize and get my life back. Let the dust accumulate. I need this. I will be back, better than ever!

Misc updates

Since I have been quite absent from my blog as of late, I thought that I'd take a moment for a brief update.

It has been so incredibly warm here lately, but I just haven't had time to turn my garden over. I hope to get to that this next week. I have some herbs and veggies growing in my family room. Quite a few have come up and I talk to them daily. I look forward to the yummy home grown foods that they will provide for me. I'm hoping to get potatoes, peas and lettuce seeds planted within a week.

I'm still enjoying my new work out routine and have lost another pound. My energy level is higher and I just feel happier! That winter blues thing really does exist. Sunshine and exercise have brought me out of my funk!

We are hoping to have the last debt paid off within the month. After that, we will tackle the mortgage with gusto! I hope to be completely debt free within 4-5 years. I look forward to that!

I have not stayed on budget with the groceries. I'm still trying to find a balance between working and homemaking. It is a challenge. One that I plan to conquer. I need to get back to menu planning. Time to get back on track.

Hope all is well with you. Happy Spring!

You know that it's been awhile when...

You forget your blogs password! Ha ha

Well, I've been beyond busy with work and home life. I am sooooooo exhausted. My to do list get keeps growing. I need a nap.

The good news about being so busy, is that you don't have time to go shopping, thus keeping you on budget. The bad news is that you don't always have time to clip coupons, make a grocery list or plan a menu. Hubby has been great about making dinners, but he will just go to the store and spend $30 or so for one meal! yikes!

My temp job, that was to end on Dec. 31st, is still going strong. Unfortunately, I was just informed that if sales do not increase, I will be laid off. So, here's my dilemma. Am I happy or sad about this news? I'm not too sure. I miss being a stay at home mom and my chores are a bit behind. I also like having the extra money and a place to have grown up conversations. I do enjoy working hard and being part of a team. There comes a sense of happiness and satisfaction with both positions.

I have absolutely no influence on keeping or losing my job. I just can't decide how to feel about this news.

On an unrelated note, my heirloom veggie seeds just arrived. I have been saving yogurt and produce cups for seed starting. I'm off tomorrow. I think that I will start my planting. It's a beautiful sunny and 60 degree day today. It will be the same tomorrow. I know that snow is coming again, in a few days, but I still am enjoying my Spring fever!

Here's to you, Spring. I will be waiting for you!

Time wasters

It is so easy to lose track of time. Mostly, I do that when online. Yikes!

Facebook, Pinterest, email, blogs, You tube etc. You could literally spend hours online! It's a challenge to get other tasks accomplished that way. Facebook has become what soap operas used to be to house wives! Seriously. I'm an addict! Pinterest and my favorite blogs as well.

As of this writing, I am putting myself on an Internet diet. I will spend a total of no more than 1 hour per day, online. That is a total for the entire day. Since I am still working part time, I have less time to complete my to-do lists. I will also scale down the amount of blogs that I follow. If I see another interesting blog, I will have to delete one to make room. This needs to happen.

Gotta go. I have less than 15 minutes left for the day. I want to use that later. Pinterest will be how I end my day.

Misc ramblings.....

My temporary, seasonal job has been extended indefinitely. That's good news for our budget. It's bad news for my sanity and health. I am exhausted! It's only a 20 or so hour per week job, but I still have all of my home duties. I'm still the carpool mom. I'm still the chief cook and bottle washer. My family has been amazing. When I work an all day shift, hubby will cook and the kids will do the dishes. I appreciate that. They just don't do other tasks like: laundry, grooming dogs, dusting, sweeping, clipping coupons, grocery shopping, ironing etc. When I work the evening shift, I clean all day and prepare dinner ahead of time. My family just needs to reheat.

I need a nap.

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I went to Target yesterday, and I left with these items and spent $1.06!

How? oh so easy. There was a coupon, in the paper, for $5 off of any two frozen snack items. I found Taquitos and green bean fries on sale. I had a coupon for $1 off of a purchase of $1 or more of fruits. I also had one for $1 off veggies. I had a coupon for $1 off of 1 Morningstar item. I had a Target cpn for $1 off of Barilla pasta as well as a manufacturer cpn. {stacked them} I also had a store refund card in the amount of $7.37. So, I saved $18.98! My kiddos were pretty happy about the frozen foods, they don't get them very often.

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This is the kale that I have been roasting into kale chips. You have to be very careful not to over cook them. They won't taste very good if they are brown. You want them to remain green, but with just a slight crunch.

I also am behind in my daily devotions. I barely have time to read the cooking directions on a box of dry pasta. I'm still looking for a new home church. I really need that fellowship time. I miss weekly Bible study groups. I miss ladies' retreat weekends.

I'm going to have to re prioritize. I need to find a way to take care of myself before I "crash and burn." I find myself still doing chores at 10:00 PM. And to top it off, I seem to have a touch of insomnia! Oh geez.

2011 recap

To follow up on my sidebar goals...
2011 personal goals:

Financial:
Pay extra on mortgage: goal ($1200) $667.36 poor planning and over spending prevented this
Pay student loans goal ($15,636) $13,073 and this from happening
Pay extra into savings $2330 {goal- $1200} got it!
Pay extra into IRA $440 {goal- $600} so close...
Personal:
20 minute workout every day I will get this this year!
eat out only once per month we did spend less than the previous year!
expand veggie garden done!
preserve more foods from garden even though we lost the garden in a storm, I was able to replant and harvest some!
spend more time with friends did this!
new grocery budget...$525.00 per month! This remains a challenge, but it is far better than the $400 that I started the year out with!
Spritual:
20 minute devos daily: I need to prioritize and make time for myself daily, I am starting a new daily devotional today. I can do this!
read the Bible in a year: I finished with just about an hour to spare in the year!! Yay me!

I have really enjoyed this blog. I love how it makes you accountable. Someone is going to read your goals and wonder how you are doing. Its so awesome when someone comments. That makes my day.

I plan to work up new goals for the year and I think I will try to have monthy goals as well. I will try to post a few times per week. I love reading blogs, but can confess to not making time for my own.

I plan to increase my health. I want to lose those stubborn 5 pounds and increase my energy. I want to run up those stairs or ride my bike without being too winded! I can do this!

Happy New Year!

Scary, scary morning

I'm in the kitchen, getting ready to bake banana bread. I have 3 pounds of overripe bananas and I'm ready to use them. Then, I started to smell something burning. It smelled like a rug that's been in the dryer too long, please don't ask how I know that smell. Okay, I confess, I melted a rug in the dryer. Anyway, it smelled like that times 10. I searched and searched. I felt walls and got the fire extinguisher. I searched the attic and all rooms. I only smelled it in the kitchen.

Turns out there was a wire melting in our electrical panel. I called hubby and fell to my knees to pray. Oh, please Lord, save our home. Please let us be okay. Then I thanked God that my kids weren't home alone. Would they know what to do? I think I'd better make sure that they do.

Hubby's home now, the power is off and we are awaiting the arrival of the electrician. (yes, it's 23 degrees outside) Could it have caught fire? I don't know, but I do know that the electric panel door was really hot!

I'm praying for a happy ending.

I hope that everyone has a Merry Christmas! (especially my kiddos!)

this is my 200th post!!!!!

This my 200th post! WOW!!!

I can not only believe that I have blogged 200 times, I am so amazed that you kind people have read my musings! What a blessing you are!

If you don't mind, can you please let me know where you are from? I can see my stats log, and can see the general area where readers are located. Im just curious.

Many stop by for a visit, but only a few participate in the conversation. I would love to say hi and follow your blog as well!

Whaddaya say? Let me know where, on this amazing Earth, you are when you are reading this silliness that I post?

Thanks and have an amazing day! ♥

Every good thing must come to an end

I read an article, in the paper recently. It was discussing seasonal jobs. There are literally thousands of people applying for a handful of these jobs.

I feel even more blessed to have landed one of them!

The place where I have a 4 month seasonal job, may keep some people on after the holidays. You would need to reapply and interview if you are interested. The part time income is really helping us right now. I just don't like the idea of applying for and interviewing for a job that I already won. It seems weird to me. If you are hired and do a good job, why don't they just keep you?

I think that I may reapply. Its close to home and works well with my family's schedule.

It's just sad to think that my days of being a "stay at home" mom will come to an end. I like that title. I love being there for my family.

There's a mouse in the house

I seriously wish that I was referring to a children's book. Unfortunately, the house I speak of, is mine. There's a mouse in my house.

How did it get in? Why is it here? How can I get it to leave? I am 1,000 times freaked out! There are tell tale little mouse poopies on the floor. My son saw it run by him. Hubby heard it scratching along the wall. HELP!

The irony is while we are trying to eradicate a field mouse from the house, we have 2 domestic mice as pets. Oh geez.

Any suggestions?

a book that I saw, in the library

I recently saw a book, about blogging, on a library shelf. The title was "Nobody Wants To Know What You Had For Lunch" or something similar to that. It was basically a book about new and different topics to keep your blog interesting.

The title got me thinking and I actually think that someone will be interested in knowing what I had for lunch.

Today, I had for lunch: 1 Morningstar® veggie corn dog, a handful of grapes, 1 can of generic diet ginger ale and 4 Reece's® Pieces.

You're welcome.

This is not a joke

There are a swarm of bees in my garage!

There must be a few dozen bees in there. I don't know how they got there. I think they are after the soda pop cans, in the recycling bin. I don't want to kill bees, they are beneficial. If the neighbors are watching right now, they are laughing. A crazed woman jumping around and screaming.

I'm scared. Send help.

preparing for Fall

photo credit: domesticatedbohemian.blogspot.com

Time for Fall cleaning...like Spring cleaning, only it's done during a whole other season. I know that not everyone does Fall cleaning. Except for maybe yard clean-up.

Well, I got started today. I am working on the laundryroom. Every nook and cranny will be scrubbed, dusted and swept. I try not to do a big cleaning job every day, and certainly not on the days that I work. I would just wear myself out. I do have limits! So, I will do this room today, and then the bedrooms on Monday. The bedrooms are the same, dust and vacuum behind furniture, scrub walls doors and baseboards, wash curtains and blinds and bedding. {bedding is of course washed more than twice a year...ha ha}

So, I've made my list and will most likely complete it within a week or so. Luckily, we have a smaller home. It's about 1900 square feet. Yay for small homes!

So, this morning I went to the shed, looking for an item, and discovered that it is a total mess. I didn't intend to, but I ended up cleaning the shed. Oh well. It wasn't on my list so... I added to the "Fall clean-up list", and then I crossed it off! One job done, ha ha ha ha...I crack me up!

Soon after I finish the inside Fall clean-up, I will begin the outside clean-up. By then, leaves will have fallen and plants will be dormant...I hope.

Staying organized

I recently walked through the library. I knew what section I was looking for, but a title caught my eye. It was about organizing your home. I soon discovered an entire section devoted to the subject of organization. Wow! I browsed through some of the books and soon realized that I could have written one of them. I love to have my home organized. I may not have the cleanest home(please don't bring a white glove over here) but I do have a pretty tidy one.

When my home is in disarray, it can actually stress me out! My kitchen cupboards are arranged by type of food and all items are neatly placed in order. My bathroom cupboards are the same. Ditto on the ole bedroom closets and dresser. Neat and tidy. I wasn't always this way. It came about when I quit working full time to stay home. My life was now devoted to keeping my home clean.

With only one child left at home, my obsession with a super clean home has cooled off a bit. I still keep the bathroom and kitchen very clean. (don't like germs...yuck!) I just am okay with a little bit of dust. Vacuuming every day is no longer a priority. I think Im mellowing out somewhat.

Except for paper organizing...my budget and finances. I still write down every expense and keep a running total, to hopefully not go over the predetermined budget amounts. I also use an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of and tally, monthly expenses. I have our monthly bills spread out into 2 week payments. Meaning, every payday I know that I need to pay the bills. I enter them into the spreadsheet to monitor if there's an increase and to make sure that everything is paid on time. I set up our budget so that all payments are made at least one week early.

There's just something very comforting about keeping up with our family's finances. It's nice to know that our bills are paid on time, every time. I guess I'm just a neat freak. I'm okay with that.

I salute you, working women/mothers and budget

I have forgotten how hard it is to run a household and work outside of the home. It has been a week, and I'm exhausted. Time to prioritize tasks and delegate, I suppose! To all working women and working mothers....you have my respect.


There is a coupon in today's paper, for Target, for this loaf of bread absolutely free! A $2.79 value. I didn't waste any time, luckily there is a Target within walking distance. I figure by the end of the day, their meager supply will be gone. {they had about 30 loaves.}

I am so happy that I raised my grocery budget and stopped trying to be perfect. I went to the store this morning, for just a few things. It is September 21, and after today's purchases, I still have $62.00 left in my grocery envelope! Woo Hoo! I may even have money left over at the end of the month. I saved a total of $15.79 in coupons, spending $54.00. I think that's pretty reasonable.

So much less stressful! It's good to be average and not a super duper extreme couponing, crazed person. Life is better here.

I need to realize that I am not perfect

Since starting this blog, I've put pressure on myself to be the perfect frugal wife and mom. Wow. Why? So my blog posts would be more interesting to read, maybe. Then I thought, why only post the good stuff? Why not post the bad as well? I am an imperfect being. Might as well admit that.

I use this blog not only to share my frugal finds, great recipes, gardening experience, crafts, couponing etc but also to hold myself accountable financially. I have been trying, for a long time, to get my grocery budget down to $400 per month. It is a really big challenge for me. Where did I even get that number? I think that reading others' blogs, and seeing how low their grocery budget is, I decided to "keep up with the Joneses" so to speak. I do well with all of the other budget categories. I clip coupons, combine with sales, cook and bake from scratch and I make my dogs' food. {thats pricey}

Well, I'm Colorado Girl, and I am not perfect. I will accept the fact that my grocery bill is about $500 per month. I will no longer beat myself up over this. I think that my new grocery budget will be $525 per month. There.

This is my sunflower

This is my Hollyhock

This is my amazing bargain of the day: I received a free box of Idahoan potaoes. {I dont normally use boxed potatoes, but they are free} The coupon is in the new issue of All You magazine. The chicken sausage was reduced from $4.99 to $1.29. I had a coupon for $2.50 off of a purchase of 2 Foster Farms chicken pkgs....so only $.08! {total retail value for all three- $10.98!!!}


Have a wonderful weekend!

todays photos

Sunflowers

todays harvest: 2 spaghetti squash, 1 zucchini and 5 tomatoes.

It is going to be a chilly, possibly rainy day. There is a pot of chili in the slow cooker, and cornbread will be made. Hello Fall ♥

Signs of fall

It is September 10th. Fall is definitely on it's way. There are signs everywhere you look.

The autumn sales displays are already out. The Burning Bush's leaves are starting to turn red. The Mums are budding. Some of the plants are starting to wilt.

I'm sitting outside right now, working on my laptop, and I think I may need to get a sweater. It's 74 degrees, but the slight breeze has a chill in it.

Unfortunately, my post summer storm garden will have enough time to grow a lot of veggies. I have baby pumpkins that just don't stand a chance.

Autumn has to be one of my favorite seasons. It's so beautiful.

misc pictures

This is the yummy bread that I baked yesterday. It had barely come out of the oven and I was right there, cutting slices. I actually ate 2 slices before I even served dinner. Oh geez...ha ha!

This is the zucchini that I shredded and sliced, ready for the freezer. Some came from my garden, some from the farmers market. Hello winter soups, breads and casseroles!

After the crazy storm that we had here in July, I didn't have any hopes of harvesting anything. Boy was I surprised this morning! 3 zucchini, 1 baby butternut squash. 1 large spaghetti squash 4 cherry tomatoes and 5 stalks of lavender flowers. YAY!!!!


This is the tomato sauce that I cooked and pureed. I put LOTS O' tomatoes and zucchini in my turkey roaster, along with onions, banana peppers, basil and garlic and a drizzle of olive oil. {all the veggies came from the farmers market, the herbs from my garden} I just let it simmer all day and when it was mushy, I blended it all in my food processor. YUM!
Read this book and follow this blog to find more amazingly easy recipes like this one!


These are the muffins that I went crazy baking a couple of weeks ago! They are all in the freezer now. I made 27 regular sized muffins....

...and 52 mini muffins. I'll post the recipe later.

This is the lone zucchini harvested last month. It was such a happy day for me!

Have a wonderful September day!

I'm back....

Life just gets in the way of blogging sometimes. I know this is an anonymous blog, but I still won't go into details of my absence. Lets just say I experienced a painful time in my life. I'm working though it, and am confident that I will feel better soon.

On a lighter note, I picked up a part time job. I'm pretty excited about that fact! It's only about 15-20 hours per week, but I really think the extra income will help us reach our year end {and 5 year} goals. We really want to have all debt gone by December 31 of this year, and have the mortgage paid within 5 years.

Lately, things keep popping up. This needs to be fixed, that just broke, etc. With my meager income, I'm hoping to stay on track with the budget, as well as build up savings for those unexpected things. I know for certain that our furnace will need repairing or replacing really soon. Some things you can plan for ahead of time. Others, like major car repairs last month, you just can't plan.

To stay on the ole grocery budget, I really need to watch my menu planning, especially for the days/nights that I will work. I work tonight, so I just put a pot of clam chowder in the slow cooker. I'm going to raise some yeast bread, and bake that before I leave. I think planning will be key to staying away from take out and/or convenience foods. I will only work 3-4 days per week, but I will generally be leaving when I normally start preparing dinner.

I know that this little job may not seem like much, and it will most likely prevent me from being at every family event, but I think a small amount of sacrifice now will be a great benefit in the long run. Becoming debt free will be like Christmas for me! I will dance in the streets and sing joyously and praise God for his help. {I asked Him for guidance on this. Do I apply? After the interview, I prayed to God, and said if it's His will, I would love this job.}

Here's my super easy Clam Chowder recipe. I wait until the clams are on sale, and then I buy a few cans to have on hand. Try it, I guarantee that you will love it!

Clam Chowder

2 cans cream of celery soup
1 can cream of mushroom
2- 6.5 ounce cans of clams, with the juice
1 16 ounce bag of hash browns, or grate a few potatoes
2 cups milk or half and half
2 TBSP chopped bacon
1/4 tsp pepper
optional- 1 small can of sliced mushrooms, or sliced fresh mushrooms

Spray slow cooker. Combine all in cooker and stir. Cover and cook on low 4-4 1/2 hours, or on high 8-9 hours. I serve in soup bowls with a sprinkling of grated cheese and with bread and salad on the side. Makes about 6 servings.